Claudio Diatto, art frees us from painClaudio Diatto was born in Turin in 1953. After studying at the Albertina Academy Art High School, he attended the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic of Turin. In the early '80s he begins training journey in France that brings him to the Fersen Gallery of Antibes, managed by the American Juduith Fox, the exhibitions in Paris at the Galerie Le Breton, in Rue Dauphine, all the way up to the exhibition in the National Museum of Saint Jean, in Nogeng le Rotrou. Since the nineties, he lives and works in Dogliani, firmly committed to seek an iconic code inspired by the rhythms of the Langa landscape.

Silk-screen printing, papercut, engraved papers, wooden and metal shapes, paintings: Claudio Diatto's artistic products speaks of a long and varied artistic career that has been able to charm Italy, interact with foreign countries and reach China. Diatto's one-man exhibition, entitled "Borderline", was held in Tianjin from April 30 to May 16 and in Beijing from May 22 to 29.Given the success of these first two stops, Diatto was also invited to exhibit in Chongqing and Shanghai.

We interviewed Claudio, currently residing in Dogliani, at his lab.

1) How do you interpret the relationship between man and nature in your production?In the only possible way: in full, because we are inextricably linked to the same fate and we will either save ourselves, or we will be lost forever together.My stylized man, who unwinds continuously from the forest a fragile "fil rouge", or who holds with passion moon and stars must be read almost like a Homeric hero, as the last defender of this dream of salvation.

2) Why can the art be considered therapeutic?Because it can make us feel aware; thus, free and it can free us from pain.

3) When do our hands become "fertile"? When they reach the knowledge of "doing" and they spring into action; opportunities are open to everyone, but almost always we are the ones who deny them to ourselves.

4) How do China and Italy communicate through art?My papercuts, in truth, have no cultural links to the Chinese tradition of carving on paper; even the technique is substantially different. The meeting took place in a spontaneous fashion, thanks to the availability and intellectual curiosity of the Chinese audience, which grasped the unintentional "contaminations", reading my Western vision as a new way to interpret their ancient tradition.

5) How can the influence of Langa be reflected into creativity?In Langa I found the perfect place for my work; after thirty years I can say to have found the roots I have never known. In the signs of seasonal change and in the work that man leaves on the cultivated fields we can read, like in a book, the references to many of the protagonists of art history in the twentieth century. I would like to reach the point of create an "iconic code of Langa" that collects and translates through my graphic language this kind of emotion.

6) What is the artwork to which you are emotionally linked the most?It is always the next one I will do; the one that will allow me to experiment with new solutions by moving forward to the horizon; the only way I know to go somewhere.